tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18135173221814045632018-12-31T00:51:09.485-05:00The Education ReporterA place to learn from and contribute to education reporting, particularly JK-12 education, in Canada and within the province of Ontario.Education Reporterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07882400443469062411noreply@blogger.comBlogger573125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1813517322181404563.post-75435201979283935572014-09-05T11:27:00.000-04:002014-09-05T11:27:22.671-04:00Coveting their neighbours' EDCsOnce again, Canada's largest publicly funded school board is pushing to get more money so that it can avoid the difficult choices it's largely failed to make over the past 10 years.
I speak of the Toronto District School Board and its press conference Sept. 4 asking the province to change the Education Development Charges (EDCs) regulations so it can qualify for them and use them to fund badly Education Reporterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07882400443469062411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1813517322181404563.post-20428538032802984642014-08-12T11:14:00.001-04:002014-08-12T11:14:41.545-04:00Asking a leopard to change its spotsIt's getting to the point that when I read things about those who challenge Catholic school boards on the instruments of how they administer faith-based schools, I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
Witness today's article in the Globe by Katie Hammer on Ontario Catholic boards forcing their students to take religious education credits as part of their high school studies. This in a world where Education Reporterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07882400443469062411noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1813517322181404563.post-80515299492467171262014-07-23T15:19:00.000-04:002014-07-23T16:07:49.443-04:00Is anyone dusting off the dance floor?I'm a little surprised I've seen so little discussion, ruminating, etc. on this so far this summer.
Every single K-12 education-sector contract in Ontario expires on Aug. 31.
Why aren't we more people talking about this?
I don't want to sound naive on this matter. I'm well aware that in every round of negotiations known to us in the past 15 to 20 years, nothing serious gets tabled until well Education Reporterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07882400443469062411noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1813517322181404563.post-56716245046949528932014-03-16T10:45:00.000-04:002014-03-16T10:45:44.899-04:00The problem with most single-system analysesSaw this tweeted by a trusted source Sunday morning, but HuffPo published an op-ed by Green Party of Ontario leader Mike Schreiner on March 15 regarding merging Ontario's four publicly funded school boards into two.
As readers here would know, I support this, with the full disclosure I am the product of a Catholic school system. However since becoming a ratepayer in southwestern Ontario, I am an Education Reporterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07882400443469062411noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1813517322181404563.post-8264678566196120002014-03-04T12:00:00.000-05:002014-03-04T12:00:02.189-05:00Changes aheadAs faithful readers here will remember, I was laid off from my most-recent job at the Expositor in Brantford, Ont. in December after 28 months as that outlet's primary city hall reporter.
In January, I accepted an offer to work at the Brant News, a Metroland weekly newspaper based in Brantford-- the general manager and editor moved quickly to offer me a position within their organization that Education Reporterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07882400443469062411noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1813517322181404563.post-71621624112219888442014-03-04T09:30:00.000-05:002014-03-05T12:08:37.826-05:00Three thoughts on Bill 122 committee hearingsHaving read through the transcript of last week's committee hearing into Bill 122, there are only a few things that percolate to the surface for me as the legislation continues its move through the House.
The transcript is part of the bill's bundle of pages on the legislative website-- French-language skills will be useful as two of the deputations' remarks are in French as are a few of the Education Reporterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07882400443469062411noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1813517322181404563.post-18863723840650452392014-02-26T12:06:00.001-05:002014-03-02T15:32:26.975-05:00Bill 122 in committeeBy the time I hit post on this, the Standing Committee on the Legislative Assembly will have begun its single day of hearings into Bill 122.
Looking to the agenda, the folks who've signed up to speak to legislators are mostly from the groups most affected by the bill-- unions representing those in the sector and school boards. Missing is the trustee / school board association for French-language Education Reporterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07882400443469062411noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1813517322181404563.post-84731477149403088022014-01-30T12:52:00.001-05:002014-01-30T12:53:38.003-05:00Bums in seats means dollars in the bankAn increasing reality across K-12 in Ontario is school boards marketing themselves to potential students.
I've noticed it, not so subtly, in my own district where the public school board has ramped up its promotional budget and materials to tell potential students "they belong" in the public system. All social media accounts are being used to push out marketing statements to enroll more often Education Reporterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07882400443469062411noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1813517322181404563.post-37654024212710421102014-01-14T21:10:00.001-05:002014-01-14T21:10:51.692-05:00A trend afoot on Bill 122?There was little if any coverage of the step back from Bill 122 taken by the education sector of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Ontario on Jan. 13.
CUPE announced it was pulling its support for the bill due to ongoing frustrations with the manner the 2012-14 Memorandum of Understanding and subsequent contracts are being inconsistently handled across the province. I've seen this Education Reporterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07882400443469062411noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1813517322181404563.post-53390933226586875592014-01-08T10:39:00.001-05:002014-01-08T10:39:40.502-05:00Make that a numeracy and literacy secretariatMy feeds were full of math talk today, as Ontario Minister of Education Liz Sandals announced a series of responses to concerns over stagnant and declining assessment results on math.
The angst has been rising since the release of the 2012 PISA results late last year, showing that stagnation in achievement in math. It's existed longer than this however, as anyone paying attention to the full Education Reporterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07882400443469062411noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1813517322181404563.post-88512131443750376962014-01-03T13:36:00.002-05:002014-01-03T13:36:53.365-05:00Let the ignored races beginJan. 2 was the opening of the nomination period for municipal elections in Ontario, as you've no doubt heard by now.
Media across the province have already reported on the first folks who filed their nomination papers when clerks' offices at municipal offices across the province opened for the day yesterday. The nomination period continues until Sept. 12-- clerks will finalize the list of Education Reporterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07882400443469062411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1813517322181404563.post-21917698882542531662013-12-28T21:09:00.001-05:002013-12-28T21:09:44.663-05:002013 in reviewThough it's been the sparsest year on record for new posts in this space, I have been paying attention to the K-12 sector in Ontario over the past 12 months. You can get a flavour of that from the Tumblr page where I aggregate the coverage of the sector from things I trip across while muddling through my social feeds or other news alerts.
Easily and without hesitation, bargaining (or lack thereofEducation Reporterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07882400443469062411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1813517322181404563.post-25674757334644722352013-12-26T13:14:00.000-05:002013-12-27T12:17:58.904-05:00ChangesThis space has, unfortunately, become what I increasingly referred to as my "oft-neglected" education blog over the past year.
There are no excuses other than neglect and a lack of drive for why this is only the fourth seventh post of the year to this space. I've not made the time for it and there was no push to do so professionally as I was focused mainly on municipal affairs.
As of a few days Education Reporterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07882400443469062411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1813517322181404563.post-10722825153102060262013-03-06T20:14:00.000-05:002013-03-06T20:16:10.922-05:00Illusions on testing illusionsAbout a month ago my eye was drawn to "Real accountability or an illusion of success?"
It's 14+ page call to action is worth a read regardless of your personal / professional views on large-scale assessments such as the standardized tests used by Ontario's Education Quality and Accountability Office.
The call to action is to review standardized testing. The authors chose Ontario, the first of Education Reporterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07882400443469062411noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1813517322181404563.post-43856506391002754302013-02-05T12:01:00.002-05:002013-02-05T12:01:58.758-05:00And the next minister is?With Kathleen Wynne's swearing in scheduled for Feb. 11, I haven't seen too much chatter on her choices for cabinet, other than some backing away from the cabinet table. With only 10 MPPs who supported her candidacy, if the premier-designate sticks to backroom-style politics those 10 could be up for some promotions.
In terms of those with cabinet experience under this government, here are some Education Reporterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07882400443469062411noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1813517322181404563.post-71729009421961493992013-02-03T14:54:00.000-05:002013-02-03T14:54:20.397-05:00Thoughts on the PCPO white paperThe paper came out with some aplomb by the party as it rolls out various policy papers on different issues to build the foundation for any pending electoral campaign. You can read it for yourself here-- though I would recommend downloading the PDF and reading the whole paper as the online version only includes the "paths."
(As an aside, the bulk of this white paper was launched at the Ray Friel Education Reporterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07882400443469062411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1813517322181404563.post-46452372264733146542013-01-22T11:47:00.001-05:002013-01-22T11:47:58.866-05:00Choosing an education premierOntario Liberal Party members will choose this province's next premier starting Jan. 25 in Toronto. As I did with the selection of a new Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario leader back in 2009, it's time to look at the six candidates for OLP leader and what their outlook on the government's second-largest expense is.
Straight off the top, this campaign's candidates feature experience in theEducation Reporterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07882400443469062411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1813517322181404563.post-77900201575680430482013-01-07T21:34:00.000-05:002013-01-22T11:58:25.760-05:00On sick daysI'm taking an opportunity to flush out the position I have when it comes to the sick-day issue. While I've often expressed it in bursts of 140 characters, it deserves more space than that.
Why? Obviously driven by the reduction of annual sick days from two per month to one a month that was in the government's objectives from the start on the 2012-14 contracts. It was tied to a the elimination of Education Reporterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07882400443469062411noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1813517322181404563.post-1442783032116882712013-01-01T14:17:00.000-05:002013-01-01T15:04:22.460-05:002012 year in reviewAs I noted at the end of my summative post for 2011, bargaining would be a huge issue in 2012 and as the year unfolded that proved to be true. It wasn't an exceedingly difficult prediction to make -- the 2008-12 contracts would expire, the government's new tack on fiscal austerity and a Liberal bench finding its way through minority government.
As of midnight yesterday, there was no overall Education Reporterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07882400443469062411noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1813517322181404563.post-13218422753956897532012-12-16T13:50:00.000-05:002012-12-16T13:50:14.707-05:00Time to reconsider extracurricularsAs the fallout from Bill 115 continues across Ontario, I've had this conversation a number of times with colleagues and friends. It's time to reconsider how extracurricular activities are offered in our community schools.
Currently, running an extracurricular requires the presence of a paid school-board employee. That's usually a teacher, but can also be a support staff member depending on the Education Reporterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07882400443469062411noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1813517322181404563.post-52457437423975295632012-10-16T11:50:00.000-04:002012-10-16T11:55:08.698-04:00LegaciesAfter the surprise move by Premier Dalton McGuinty Monday, I've been left wondering as someone whose interest in education has come to fruition in years dominated by his mandate, what McGuinty's legacy to K-12 education in Ontario should be.
There are many who were pouring their thoughts onto social media Monday, particularly from the education sector, who were only too eager to take credit for Education Reporterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07882400443469062411noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1813517322181404563.post-41580026615433947972012-07-27T22:48:00.001-04:002012-07-27T22:49:04.418-04:00Unsure where the pressure liesI read the Globe's piece earlier this week, interested to see the reference to the so-called B-memo to school boards on bargaining.
The Globe says:
The memo suggests that school boards could be facing a provincial
takeover if they do not sign teacher contracts within the next six
weeks, consequences a government spokesman would neither confirm nor
deny.
However, having read the memo (and Education Reporterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07882400443469062411noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1813517322181404563.post-85472676570122045402012-07-12T01:35:00.000-04:002012-07-12T01:35:06.847-04:00This government likes to talkAs a followup to the last post on the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association (OECTA) memorandum of understanding (MOU) comes news the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSFT) and the French-language teachers' union have re-entered discussions with the government.
Only the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO) and those in the sector represented by the Canadian Education Reporterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07882400443469062411noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1813517322181404563.post-42990731065042033542012-07-10T20:01:00.000-04:002012-07-10T20:01:07.694-04:00Labouring through the summerWhat a fascinating week in labour relations for the K-12 educational sector in Ontario.
The memorandum of understanding (MOU) agreement between the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association (OECTA) and the province, available here and embedded below thanks to the Globe and Mail, is a scintillating read.
There are a few things that were glossed over in the rush to publish on the deal, the Education Reporterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07882400443469062411noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1813517322181404563.post-3645896634031650442012-05-21T17:55:00.000-04:002012-05-21T17:55:11.870-04:00Wishing, and hoping... for an unlikely moratoriumAfter all the time I've spent monitoring and reporting on this beat, I can't help but continue to be surprised by how every community re-invents the wheel when it comes to the question of school closures.
Here's an example (just one) from Niagara Region, where an MPP is calling for yet another moratorium on school closures. I also look at sites such as the Peterborough-based Save Local Schools Education Reporterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07882400443469062411noreply@blogger.com3